The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-228052, filed Jul. 27, 2001, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shampoo basin for use at barber shops and beauty salons, and to a combination shampoo basin and chair.
2. Description of Background Art
Customarily, professional barbers and stylists wash and rinse their customers hair in shampoo basins. To have their hair washed or rinsed in a conventional shampoo basin, customers must assume one of two postures: either lie on a chair positioned in front of the basin and adjusted almost horizontally, or sit in front of the basin in a chair which reclines toward the basin at an angle greater than 45 degrees.
The present invention is especially related to the second configuration.
Unlike the first configuration, which requires customers to lie down, the second configuration requires customers to lean their heads back over the shampoo basin, which is often equipped with a cushioning medium to support the neck and to minimize discomfort.
Specifically, a basin body may be made of a synthetic resin, such as fiber-reinforced plastic, or a hard material, such as porcelain, and is equipped on an upper edge with a cushioning medium having an inverted U-shape in cross section, to support a customer""s neck. The profile of the upper edge is a single curved surface.
However, installing a cushioning medium affects the upper edge of the basin body, reducing its available width.
A prior art basin body arranged to support the neck along the upper edge thereof is shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a central longitudinal cross sectional view of a shampoo basin body 101 in use.
The shampoo basin illustrated was made as a trial by the inventor of the present invention. This trial basin retains the technical premise of prior art shampoo basins, i.e., a neck-supporting member 102 of the basin body 101 has a relatively narrow upper edge 103. The profile of the edge constitutes a single curved surface.
Accordingly, a neck k of a person contacts the neck-supporting member 102 at a small section of the upper edge 103, frequently causing neck pain.
Applying a cushioning medium to the basin body may serve to prevent neck pain, but such cushions lack durability and are inconvenient when cleaning the shampoo basin.
Thus, the present invention provides a shampoo basin which supports the neck of a person with or without a cushioning medium, and a combination shampoo basin and chair.
The present invention includes a shampoo basin 1 for washing and rinsing the hair of a person sitting on a chair while supporting the person""s neck. The shampoo basin comprises an open-top basin body 2 and a neck-supporting member 4, which is a part of the upper edge of the basin body 2 and has an internal corner 41 positioned inside and an external corner 42 positioned outside on a peripheral surface side 44 of said basin body. A top surface 43, located between the internal and external corners 41, 42, has a curvature radius larger than those of the internal and external corners 41, 42 to support a customer""s neck.
The top surface 43 can be either a flat surface (an infinite surface in the curvature radius, so to speak) or a curved surface. If curved, preferably, the top surface 43 curves slightly upward, with a curvature radius larger than those of the internal and external corners 41, 42.
Additionally, the present invention provides a combination shampoo basin and chair including the above-described shampoo basin and a chair 5 positioned in front of said shampoo basin and on which is seated a person whose hair is to be washed and/or rinsed. A backrest 52 of the chair 5 reclines.
The top surface 43 inclines slightly at an angle formed by an imaginary line linking the end of the internal corner 41 with the end of the external corner 42, and a horizontal line which preferably inclines at an angle in the range of from 5 to 25 degrees and, more preferably, from 10 to 20 degrees. This enables the neck to rest comfortably on the top surface 43, resulting in minimal neck pain if any.
The top surface 43 can be made sufficiently wide in a longitudinal direction. The width between the end of the inner peripheral side of the internal corner 41 and the end of the outer peripheral surface side of the external corner 42 is preferably around 4 to 8 cm to support a person""s neck, resulting in minimal neck pain if any.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.